Pereira’s (20-6-0) superior BJJ techniques from bottom were nullified Bogatov when the fight went down to the mat. Pereira was adversely affected by Bogatov’s takedown attack, which opened-up strong punches to Pereira’s head, resulting in a flash knockdown in the third round. Pereira got back in the fight midway through round four, connecting with punches and knees to the body, but the Brazilian needed a strong fifth and final round to win a decision. Bogatov, however, remained aggressive, firing strikes and making take-downs, on his way to a unanimous five-found decision and the coveted M-1 Challenge lightweight title belt.

Past M-1 Challenge title challenger Maxim Grabovich (9-4-0), of Russia, overcame a rocky moment in the second round against his Brazilian opponent, Tiago Varejao Lacerda (27-6-1), to control most of the action to take a split decision.

French lightweight Mickael “Ragnar” Lebout (18-9-2) and always tough Russian Alexey “Ataman” Makhno battled tooth and nail in a bloody war (see pictures below). Lebout hit Makhno in the face with everything but the proverbial kitchen sink, but the Russian refused to go down and even landed a few solid shots on Lebout, who also has good “whiskers”. Lebout won an entertaining fight by way of a unanimous three-round decision.

In the main card opener, dangerous striker Pavel Gordeev (12-1-0) edged grappling specialist Alik Albogachiev (5-1-0) by way of a split decision in a showdown between Russian lightweights. The fighters were upright in the first two rounds, much to Gordeev’s advantage, and the previously Albogachiev was unable to close the gap in the final frame.

Finnish lightweight Jani Salmi (9-6-0) scored his second M-1 victory, using a rear naked choke for an opening round win by submission over Ruslan Khisamutdinov (10-5-0), of Russia. In a spirited match between Russian bantamweights, settled by a unanimous decision, Ivan Eremenko (8-2-0) was too much to handle for Nidzhat Imanov (4-4-1).

ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 200 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2018 has been another sensational year of world-class competition, featuring a full calendar of Challenge events, fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.

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